Deuteronomy 2:26-3:29, Tired of Waiting?

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Deuteronomy 2:26-3:29 Tired of Waiting?

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Please open your Bible with me to Deuteronomy chapter our chapter 2 starting in verse 26 I'll be reading to the end of chapter 3
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The Deuteronomy chapter 2 starting in verse 26 hear the word of the Lord so I sent messengers from the wilderness of Ketamoth to see
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Han the king of Heshbon with words of peace saying let me pass through your land I will go only by the road.
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I will turn aside neither to the right nor to the left You shall sell me food for money and that I may eat and give me water for money that I may drink only
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Let me pass through on foot as the sons of Esau who live in seer and the Moabites who live in our did for me
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Until I go over the Jordan into the land that the Lord our God is giving to us But see
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Han the king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him for the Lord Our Lord your God hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate that he might give him into your hand as he is this day
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And the Lord said to me behold I have begun to give see Han in his land over to you begin to take possession that you may occupy his land then see
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Han came out against us he and all his people to battle it J has and the
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Lord our God gave him over to us and we defeated him and his sons and all his people and we captured all his cities at that time and Devoted to destruction every city men women and children.
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We left no survivors only the livestock We took a spoil for ourselves with the plunder of the cities that we captured from our or which is on the edge of the valley of the
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Arnon and from the city that is in the valley as far as Gilead there was not a city too high for us the
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Lord our God gave all into our hands only the land of the sons of Ammon, you did not draw near that is to all the banks of the river
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Jabbok The cities of the hill country, whatever the Lord our God had forbidden us Then we turned and went up to to the way of Bashan and all the king of Bashan came out against us
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He and all his people to battle at Edry But the Lord said to me do not fear him for I have given him and all his people in his land into your hand
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And you shall do to him as you did to see Han the king of Amorites who lived at Heshbon?
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So the Lord our God gave into our hand Og also the king of Bashan and all his people and we struck him down until he had no survivor left and we took all
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His cities at that time there was not a city that we did not take from them 60 cities the whole region of our gob the kingdom of Og in the invasion all these were cities fortified with high walls gates and bars besides very many unwalled villages and we devoted them to Destruction as we did to see
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Han the king of Heshbon devoting to destruction every city Went men women and children, but all the livestock the spoil of the cities we did
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We took as our plunder so we took the land at that time out of the hand of the two kings of the
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Amorites who were beyond the Jordan from The Valley of Arnon to Mount Hermon the Sidonians call
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Hermon Syrian well the Amorites call it senior all the cities of the table and in all
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Gilead and all Bayesian as far as Salaka and a dry cities of the kingdom of Og and Bashan for only
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Og the king of Bashan was left of the remnant of the Raphael behold His bed was a bed of iron.
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Is it not in Raba of the Ammonites? Nine nine cubits was its length and four cubits its breath according to the common cubit
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When we took possession of this land at that time I gave you the Rubenites and the Gadites in the territory of the territory beginning at our which is on the edge of the valley of the
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Arnon and half the hill country of Gilead with its cities the rest of Gilead and all Bayesian the
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Kingdom of Og that is all the region of our gob. I gave to the half -tribe Manasseh all that portion of Bayesian is called the land of Rafaam Jair the
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Manassite took the region of our gob that is Bayesian as far as the border of the Gershwite Gershwite Too much or I gave
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Gilead and to the Rubenites and the Gadites I gave the territory from Gilead as far as the valley of the Arnon with the middle of the valley as the border as far as the
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River Jabbok the border of the Ammonites the Araba also with the Jordan is the border and the
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Chennaroth as far as the sea of the Araba and this the salt sea under The slopes of Mount of Pisgah on the east and I commanded you at that time
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Saying the Lord your God has given you this land to possess all your men of valor shall possess
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Shall cross over arm before your brothers the people of Israel your only your wives your little ones and your livestock
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I know that you have much livestock have Shall remain in the cities that I gave you until the
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Lord gives you rest Gives rest to your brothers as to you and they also occupy the land that the
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Lord your God gives them beyond the Jordan then each of the then each of you may return to his possession which
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I have given you and I commanded Joshua at that time your eyes have seen all that the
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Lord your God has done to these two Kings So will the Lord do to all the kingdoms into which you are crossing?
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you shall not fear them for it is the Lord your God who fights for you and I pleaded with the
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Lord at that time saying Oh Lord God You have only begun to show your servant your greatness in your mighty hand
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For what God is there in heaven or on earth who can do such works and mighty acts as yours?
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Please let me go over and see the good land beyond the Jordan the hill that hope that good hill country and Lebanon But the
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Lord was angry with me because of you and would not listen to me and the Lord said to me Enough from you.
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Do not speak to me of this matter again Go up to the top of Pisgah and lift up your eyes westward and northward and southward and eastward and look at Look at it with your eyes for you shall not go over this
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Jordan But charge Joshua and encourage and strengthen him For he shall go over at the head of this people and he shall put them in possession of the land that you shall see
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So he remained in the valley opposite So we remained in the valley opposite Beth pure If the
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Lord had his blessings the reading of his Holy Word We're a little thin today missing some
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People they recover Justin and them and Joshua will be gone for the summer
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Well, do you hate to wait Now last week Mother's Day one of the worst days to try to go out to eat because because everyone is doing it we went out to Outback Steakhouse and There were a lot of people lined up I'm waiting in the lobby and the front porch and customers were being told it would be a 45 minute to an hour wait
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And they just accepted it I guess because they had no choice But we had made reservations ahead of time.
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So we had to wait a few minutes But right behind us in line was
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Alan and his family and they must have made the reservations even earlier Because they didn't have to wait at all.
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I mean they went right from checking in and right to a table. What a triumph No waiting Then of course getting a table is only the first obstacle, you know to overcome to avoid waiting
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You might have to wait a long time for your food to show up And so if you're like us like me, anyway,
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I think I like to have an appetizer, you know Maybe a blooming onion. I like that thing and if they're doing their job, right the appetizer comes out right away
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I mean don't don't wait a long time the appetizer comes right before the entree that makes no sense. And so You know, that's what it's all about.
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So you don't have to wait to eat You know what? You don't go to a restaurant to wait you go to a restaurant to eat
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Do you hate to wait? Well, sometimes though you have to learn to wait If you're single wait for the
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Lord to send you the right spouse. Too bad Brandon's not here. He's gone to Just for him,
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I don't know else's who's single here Wait for wait for the right spouse if you get impatient and you give up on waiting and you compromise
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You might deeply regret it later on some businesses like some of these rent -to -own places
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Take advantage of people's hatred of waiting, you know, they'll put a Ultra HD whatever
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TV and in their window with the big letters only 49 99
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Then a little letters a month You can own it free and clear about 20 months
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They promise and you have maybe maybe you have extra $50 in your pocket. You just got paid and you want it so much
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But if you think about it, it adds up to a thousand dollars, which may be about twice as much as is
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What you could get it for if you would wait and you buy it you save up your money $50 a month for ten months and you could buy your own, but of course that means you have to wait
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But if you hate to wait Then you you know You think you can rent to own it now and you make your payments and then maybe after a year or something happens
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You have medical bills or whatever and you can't make the payment on the TV and They come back and get it and you have nothing to show for all the money
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That you you spent all because you hated to wait Sometimes many times we need to learn to wait good things come to those who wait they say but still there's something in us
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That they want at least some things now Give me a down payment.
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Give me an appetizer. Give me something now No more waiting before there's something wrong if we're always told to wait
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George Orwell in his book animal farm not only scorned communism for its false rhetoric of Equality all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others
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About its corruption the way the pigs who were in charge began living just like the humans
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The aristocrats the rich had before he also scorned Orwell also scorned religion
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Just like the communists that The bird in his book symbolizes the church symbolizes the ministers was always singing about to the other animals about sugar candy mountain
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If you're a good animal a good mule or ox or you know, whatever a good chicken
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You'll be a good animal a good obedient Beast of burden do whatever you're supposed to be doing on this farm when you die
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You'll get to go to sugar candy mountain Where you can indulge in treats all the time, but for now
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All you're gonna get for your work is hay and water. That's it. But later be patient sugar candy mountain
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You have to wait for all the rewards. So even though Orwell was rejecting Marxism he was agreeing with what
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Marx had said about religion mostly Christianity talking about that It was the opiate of the masses that it was just a way to numb people to the pain
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Of their dreary hard lives a way to get them to keep working hard To keep the poor in their place.
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Keep the working people working day in and day out without complaining without revolting
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Taking their low pay and their long hours and the abuse that's handed out to them Putting up with the corruption from the government and just do what you're told
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Deprive yourselves of pleasure for now because later, you know, there's heaven and you'll get your reward later
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You'll have to wait for your reward in the next life It was really they both said both
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Marx and Orwell Religion for them both they thought was a scam
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It was a way to get most people now To obey the laws to stay in line stay in your place be quiet and let the aristocrats
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Or the robber barons or maybe now they would lately be called the 1 % Let them get away with their self -indulgence while the rest of us suckers
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Worked hard and and had to wait for our reward, which they thought was never really coming.
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Anyway the problem that was their criticism of Christianity from both
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Orwell and the Communists the problem with that criticism is Is is that really what the
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Bible teaches now sure some some birds Some religion some churches might maybe it might be telling us to wait for sugarcandy mountain
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It's all in the future. But is that what the Word of God says? Certainly, we are promised great blessings to come.
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I Has not seen or nor ear heard or any of us imagined what God has in store for those for those who love him 1st
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Corinthians chapter 2 verse 9 says but that's not all the Christian life is about It's not all a promise for the future
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For the not yet for an eternal life that begins when our body dies there is a promise a promised land now
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And we see that here in this passage in five parts first. There's the purpose Second there's the prefigurement third.
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There's the portion fourth. There's the partnership and fifth. There's the preview Got them all to illiterate.
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These are great words. I let great letters. Well first, there's the purpose Israel has Has already been called at the end of our pastors last week now this passage we picked up sort of in the middle
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Moses has been in the middle of this long speech and just at the end of last week Remember that he had told
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Israel that they that the Lord is telling them to rise up now and contend in battle with Sihon They weren't supposed to contend with remember with with Edom or with Moab or with the
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Ammonites Because the Lord is the Lord without borders had given them those nations their borders
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You remember that he had given them their right to their land and Israel did not have the right to take it now though they've come to the border of another kingdom called
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Heshbon with their king who is named Sihon and They aren't given permission given the green light from the
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Lord to take their land Begin to take possession in verse 24 by taking possession of the land of Sihon They were beginning to take possession of the promised land and this is the surprising part of this passage
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You know up until now if you're reading the Bible through for the first time But well actually up until Numbers But but if if here
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Deuteronomy is recalling back what happened in the book of Numbers But up until now in their history
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You would think that the promised land is all west of the Jordan River that if that's where it begins
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It's between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea that they won't begin to get that promised land until they cross the
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Jordan River You would just assume that up until now that that's everything that's been said about the promised land has led you to that But now they're on the border of this other kingdom called
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Heshbon The last of that unbelieving generation has passed away the old
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Israel That's not of Israel has finally died off and they're crossing now Into the promised land
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It's not all Not yet across the Jordan It's now and That's what
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Moses has said at the very end of our passes last week up until verse 24 Chapter 2 but Moses is a funny thing now.
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We begin our passes today starting in verse 26 He sends messengers member.
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Okay, the Lord has told them this this land this kingdom Heshbon This belongs to you rise up and take it and yet in verse 26
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Moses sends and messengers ambassadors To see on and you notice there verse 26 with words of peace
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What's this no We don't mean to attack you we don't mean to be your enemy
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He makes the same offer to see on king of Heshbon that he did with the Edomites It will pass peacefully through your territory on land on the road.
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We'll go we'll stay on your roads We're not going to trample on your lawns. Well, we'll pay for everything. We take just let us pass through and Come and cross the
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Jordan River because our promised land is over there across the
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Jordan What's the purpose of that Remember, he's been told by the
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Lord this land this kingdom of Heshbon rise up take it and yet he sends ambassadors to them
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Saying let's make peace. Just let us pass through Why? The Lord's already said that that there that this land see
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Hans land is now theirs rise up and take it It's the beginning of taking Possessing all the promised land why offer him a way out?
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What if he takes it, you know, what if he had said, okay, we'll let you through come on in Of course, there are no what -ifs with God The purpose
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I think is to show the justice of God even if God offers peace to sinners
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They resist You know the pictures of sinners being pain today even by some Christians by seeker sensitive churches
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Is that they naturally love or at least they like? God It's just religion.
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They don't like that's what we're told constantly these days. They love God. They just hate your religion declare to them that God wants peace and They'll respond with peace and that's what people think.
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It's not that they're hostile to God No, we're told that they're hostile to God. They're just hostile to Suits and ties and hymns and offerings and long boring doctrinal sermons.
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That's what they don't like So if you can strip away all that stuff about the church that they don't like tell them
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God wants peace They'll come flocking But they don't
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The reality is that they are hostile to God In fact, you can make a religion that they like they might like your religion
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But unless God does a miracle you can't get them to like God sinners hate
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God So they deserve God's punishment That's what you see here with Sihon Sihon was offered peace
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The people of God promised them that they wouldn't touch them They'd pay for everything if Sihon's country would just let them pass through the touching
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Oh, you got to do on their way to God's promises, but Sihon in verse 30 Would not let us pass by him.
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It says they resisted Stephen talked to the Israelites. You always resist the
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Holy Spirit and Paul says the Corinthians of the natural man. That's the unsaved person Resist cannot accept the things of God Here's Sihon resisted
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What was the purpose of that from Sihon's point of view? I think that's probably easy Sihon almost certainly would have said well, he didn't trust these
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Israelites You know, let him in your border. They're really invading once you go and say cross into our border
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They're in our land, you know, it's easy for them to take over then we need to resist them right at the border Remember people almost always have good sounding excuses for their sins.
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I sound like good national defense, doesn't it? They'd say well, we got to protect our borders. It's a matter of national security
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They were saying to themselves So people say people always have good sounding excuses for their sins,
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I Have needs that need to be met. I Need to get the business established and enough savings before I can serve
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God family comes first good sounding excuses here though They they the truth is they just didn't trust
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Israel Sinners don't trust God He's trying to take pleasure from me.
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We think he's trying to keep me From becoming like him from getting what I want from having my best life now
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Sihon probably had a council with his meeting with his elders, you know of his nation and they all agreed
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This was intolerable They would fight They had their purposes
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What was the purpose of? their purposes In the second half of verse 30 verse 30 is key.
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Look at that verse 30 for they wouldn't let us pass by because Not ultimately because of any of the reasons they thought was their purpose they had their excuses but what was the purpose of their excuses but because Moses says the
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Lord your God talking to Israel Hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate the
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Lord determined that what what Sihon decided Oh See, I did it freely I'll be according to his nature as a resistor of the
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Holy Spirit again That's what Paul said the natural man does not accept the things of God see on a natural man would not accept the things of God he's an enemy of God He did what came naturally to him, but the
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Lord was ultimately behind it ensuring that he would say no to Israel's offer
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What's the purpose of that Christians today often think God is only in the business of softening hearts and drawing people to himself
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He's trying his best people think today. He's desperately to woo people with soft words of sweetness and comfort
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It's true that the Lord Jesus said that the Holy Spirit is at work convicting the world of sin and Righteousness and judgment that is making people aware of their sin of God's right
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Standards that they've fallen short of of the judgment that we will all face But unless he accompanies that convicting work with gifts of repentance
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He gives an invitation. I'm a piece Just let me pass through but unless he accompanies that by changing our hearts with the grace to believe and to change
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We will reject the conviction We'll become seared in our conscience.
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And so we become Hard -hearted God's commands without his grace produce hard -heartedness
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Because of because of us because the way we are because without his grace we will not respond To them we will not say yes to God's offer.
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We will not unless he changes us I've seen people who appear convicted of their sin. I think
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I only convinced I think they've been in their mind They've been convinced that they have sinned that they know they were in sin
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Maybe they've seen example that they've seen that they've been robbing God and they're giving that they've been stingy and they're giving well
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Well, they've been indulgent with themselves and they that they they know that their excuses have been turned apart by the
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Word of God They know now that they have not been showing the generosity that the father showed him giving us the son that they haven't been
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Transformed by Christ who for our sakes became poor so that we might become rich that they haven't been showing that their treasure is in heaven
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They're convicted They're cut to the heart and Yet they don't repent they don't change and the cut to the heart
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Like cuts on your skin It's covered over with a thick scar tissue
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Comes hard and numb so much so that after a while They could hardly feel anything
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It's totally unaware of their sins anymore Here the Lord hardened Sihon spirit gave him an obstinate heart so that he would stubbornly not listen to the offers of peace
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But he wouldn't go to war. What's the purpose of that? Oh See, I thought it was to protect his country
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But the Lord had another purpose for it at the end of verse 30 The Lord made his heart obstinate that in order that this is the purpose the
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Lord that he the Lord might give him Sihon into your hand
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Israel The Lord's purpose behind it all was to give Sihon and all his land to Israel Because this was the beginning of the promised land
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So, why does the Lord harden hearts They rose remember his Sihon's The Pharisees who in Jesus's day could not believe it says could not believe
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Because the Lord had hardened their hearts in John chapter 12 verse 39 and 40 people today Who hear the message who are cut to the heart, but instead of becoming soft tender -hearted believing become calloused and hard Why What's the
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Lord's purpose for it Well, yes to glorify himself as he says in Romans chapter 9 verse 17 about Pharaoh for this very purpose
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I have raised you up Pharaoh. This is why you exist Pharaoh that I might show my power in you and That my name might be proclaimed in all the earth
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But notice That he is unless you just think well just God is just Glorifying himself even at the expense of the of the destruction of all kinds of people
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But notice he has chosen to glorify himself not just in destruction But in salvation,
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I mean, how was God glorified in Pharaoh? Not just in Israel being just not just in Egypt that is being destroyed but in Israel being saved
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How is God glorified here not just in Sihon being destroyed But in Israel getting the promised land
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How was God glorified in the Pharaohs and the Pharisees hearts being hardened not just in Jesus being destroyed but in our salvation being provided for The Lord hardened
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Pharaoh's heart to save Israel here It's Sion's heart is obstinate to give Israel the beginning of the promised land the purpose in glorifying himself
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God's purpose is is in glorifying himself through saving his people and That's what he does.
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The Lord tells Moses that he has begun to to give Sihon and his land
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He's begun to give C on his land to Israel and he tells them begin to take possession
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I'm gonna begin now no more waiting They can start taking the promised land now even before they cross the
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Jordan Sion comes out with his army against him in verse 32 and in verse 33 The Lord our
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God had gave him over to us in verse 34. They devoted to destruction their cities and that's a particular key
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Word in Hebrew devoted to destruction a little odd to us, but it means it's this is holy war This is this is for the
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Lord the things this fighting is is not just for their own advancement. It's for God Everything was devoted to the
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Lord except some of the livestock and some of the plunder This was holy war at least in part and this is what they were supposed to practice when they were taking the promised land
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Because now they are taking the promised land In verse 36. There is not a city too high for us the
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Lord our God gave all of it into our hand And that's key. Remember before they were they were intimidated
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They were frightened from trying to go into the promised land a generation before because they thought the walls are too high
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They were too well fortified and now here they see well, these walls were fortified to these cities were
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Formidable, but not not anything could resist us The Lord was glorified in his people getting his promises now, not all of it is not yet There's the purpose
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Then there's the prefigurement then the next kingdom patient prefigures The taking of the promised land in chapter 3 they run away they turn away from the
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Ammonites Because they are out of bounds. Remember they're forbidden But they turn toward due north patient.
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The king of patient was as a colossal kind of monstrous man named Ogg Now if your name's
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Ogg, you probably better be a big tough guy All right, you don't want to be a wimpy guy and be named Ogg.
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It's not gonna work He'll be just like the Giants that they are facing in the promised land Remember that remember they were again.
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They were frightened not only by the high walls, but there's Giants of that promise I mean, there's no way we can take it they thought The Titans there that frightened them all the majority of spies didn't think they had a chance and all goes like that Ogg himself was a descendant of Raphael Mentioned that last week these
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Giants that Moses mentioned He was so huge in verse 11 that his bed had to be made of iron to hold his weight even mentions where it was
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At this time when Moses speaks like somebody was keeping it as a tourist attraction somewhere Even after Ogg was gone, but it'd be made of iron and it was thirteen and a half feet by six feet
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So it's a big bed Apparently they didn't measure him exactly but he measured his bed after he was gone
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And so if you figure his bed is made made big enough so you can comfortably stretch out on he's got to be about 13 feet tall
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Okay, that's he's a big he's a big guy he and he prefigures
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What's coming? And Ogg leads out his army against Israel. The Lord tells Moses in verse 2 do not fear him
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This 13 foot tall guy for I have given him and all his people into your head and to And his people and his land into your hand and so it was
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Just like with Sihon before in his army So the Lord our God gave into our hand all goal
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So didn't give any details of the battle just just like that. They overcame him this 13 foot tall guy and all his uh his army even though their cities were fortified with high walls and Bars and gates just like the promised land.
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Remember the unbelieving spies thought it was too well fortified. We can't take it Well, the Lord gave it to them.
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Anyway, there's two Giants there the Lord here Prefigures they're taking the
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Giants to come by overcoming this this odd guy and just like before There's this is holy war
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Devoted things devoted to destruction just like that's what they're supposed to do in the conquest of the promised land
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They are taking what God has promised to them. So this wasn't a war for selfish expansion or just plunder
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It was for the Lord. And so everything was devoted to the Lord with some exceptions the result was
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That now they've taken two kingdoms of the Amorites east of the Jordan River and That's why the
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Lord took them around this way to the promised land to the east all the way around to the east of the
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Dead Sea all that instead of coming up from The south which looks like the natural way now, they were gonna find themselves
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Already in the promised land Total surprise They thought it was across the
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Jordan and yet now they're told hey we got these kingdoms attacked us We had to defend ourselves.
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We took their territory and now the Lord tells them you're in it This is the promised land before you expected it
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Unexpectedly, they find themselves in the promised land now already It's not sugarcandy mountain sometime after they cross the promised land whenever that will be every time they cross the
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Jordan, you know We have been talking about it for a whole life whole all our lives is all the whole generation past this
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Jordan We're gonna cross at this promised land. It's always not yet. But now no now it's here the land
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They possess from Sihon and Ogg landed up They first only wanted to pass through on their way to the promised land now becomes part of the promised land
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They are now already Not just on the way to the promised land They're there the
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Lord's exceedingly great and precious promises forgiveness life and joy reconciliation righteousness and peace a new heaven and a new earth a river of life and love living in the shining presence of God are
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The promised land and the journey will sometimes seem too long and too hard and get tired
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Impatient and maybe tempted to be resentful and maybe wonder maybe it's all been big scam
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Always, you know, we're always working and it's always tomorrow. It's always in the future and it's never now we might get tired of waiting
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We think for now, it's always always Not yet But if we have the gift of repentance
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The grace that enables us to admit I have sinned to believe so strongly now
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That we're willing to give up things now for the hope of blessings not yet if we have that Then unexpectedly
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You wake up and find Now already at least in part
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You were in the promised land When X is the portion in verses 12 to 17
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Moses distributes this portion of the promised land to the two and a half tribes of Reuben and Gad and Manasseh And this is one of those parts of the
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Old Testament people read and their eyes glaze over all these names You don't know where in the world they are and somebody gets that and that who cares and you wonder, you know, what's on TV?
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In numbers where we were last summer. It mentions how these tribes wanted this land asked they asked
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Moses for this land They've requested it and at first you would you would expect them to be rebuked for wanting to settle down Now you expect them to be scolded.
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No, this is an ed. It's over there. It's not yet but That's not what happens.
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They aren't rebuked There's nothing wrong With Israel getting some of the promised land now
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There's nothing wrong with us Getting some of God's exceedingly great and precious promises
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Eternal life and righteousness and peace and joy and the Holy Spirit overcoming some sins to getting that now
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Here Moses didn't even mention that that those three tribes asked for the land. You notice that he didn't mention that here
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Back in numbers. That's a big thing They first asked for it and Moses goes into this long lecture about hey, you know
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Don't be like the previous generation that wouldn't fight for the land and and they say no we'll go and fight But here
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Moses speaks of himself giving the land under God's guidance of him portioning out this land of what just now we've learned
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Is the promised land already? How he portions it out to these Three tribes two and a half actually and this is one of those things that skeptics of the
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Bible I guess could point to and say look it's a contradiction in numbers chapter 32 They're asking for this land, but here
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Moses is just says he's giving them this land. So which is it? Well, it's both in a marvelous
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Short commencement address at least the part I saw of it was short Denzel Washington, you know the actor tells the graduates that he's speaking to the the desire they have to accomplish
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Whatever it is that they want to accomplish that that desire itself is The sign that God has given it to them and That may often be the case the desire that you have
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You have a holy desire to to attempt great things for God Maybe to grow
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Jim jr. Or Jim or maybe to do something new we can do a lot more with our building
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I think then we're doing maybe to write songs for the Lord be a Transformer of some kind to bring more of God's transforming power from the not yet into the now
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Those desires may indeed be the sign that that is what
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God wants you to have now The Lord wanted the
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Rubenites and the Gaddites and half of them and ascites to get this land now East of the
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Jordan not to have to wait any longer And so he put it into their heart to ask for it
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And so more Moses portioned it out to them now, of course if your dreams are
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They're just all about you want to have expensive vacations and drive luxury cars and live in a big house
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With your own pool, you know That probably wasn't placed there by the Lord It's not that those things are bad
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It's that your dreams are too small If you had the money for all that Why would you want to spend it on?
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just that our portion the kingdom of God now here is
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Righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit Next starting in verse 18 is the partnership
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You might think that the two and a half tribes that have already found their promised land would say, you know
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You might think they would say we're done You know, good luck to the rest of you on that conquest
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They crossed the Jordan send us a card when you get there and you settle down. Let us know how it went
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I'll be checking your Facebook Turns out. All right But Moses doesn't allow that He commanded them in verse 18 the the
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Lord your God has given you this land to possess Israel has part of the promised land now
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It's not sugarcane Mountain We always have to wait for in the future, but all of Israel doesn't have all of the promised land yet And so all of it will have to fight
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Until all of them get all of it And he Moses says all your men of valor talking to those who settle down now
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Shall cross arm before your brothers brothers. They are They don't rest
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None of them rest Until they all have the land so they're unified
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Their partners Something that I try to remind us of every time we take the
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Lord's Supper something that is crucial to the Christian life in the New Testament It's portrayed here in Israel being
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United and taking the land that it's That it's one for all and all for one something that is implied in our church's name
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Covenant not only that God saves us because he made a covenant with us But that now because of that he expects us to make a covenant with each other to live together as a covenant people bound together something
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It seems utterly foreign To the individualistic, you know, it's just me and Jesus The libertarian there's no law of love binding us together.
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It's just you know, I'm not bound by anything Consumeristic the church is like a restaurant, you know,
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I have my favorite I like to go to there's some place new and exciting opens up or maybe the staff here gets a little too
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Too overbearing or demanding if the price goes up I'll go somewhere else the idea of membership of the idea of a church to which you belong that has a rightful expectation from you that that has
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Responsibilities you have responsibilities toward that so you don't just pick up and leave and because suddenly you decided is it fun anymore?
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that Jesus saved a people not just separate persons and that people that new holy nation is united that we
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Individuals aren't just in this alone as individualist That we are together and that together
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You know, we're not the only church We're united with other churches to hear the the men who already have their portion of the promised land
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That here they leave their families And they leave their stuff their animals and things and go with their brothers to fight because they are all in this together
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This isn't the story of individuals going to get real estate for themselves.
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This is about a nation United getting the promises of God together in the end
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The story of the gospel is not about individuals believers getting salvation just for themselves
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It's about a new nation a united body being saved together partners
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Jesus shed his blood to buy the church not atomized separate disconnected individuals
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Individualists Here in verse 21 Moses told told Joshua in Hebrew, it's
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Yeshua and Greek would be translated as Jesus and Jesus in English, it would be
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Jesus He tells the first Joshua That he's seen now you've seen
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Joshua what the Lord's done to see on and all Now he's done it now already so the
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Lord will do future tense yet to come To all the kingdoms into which you are crossing the result partners verse 22
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We don't need to fear The Lord fights for us Jesus will not let any enemy the gates of hell to prevail over his new nation his assembly the church
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He will lead them all he will lead us together safely into the promised land
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Finally There's the preview Having gotten an appetizer of the promised land
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Moses hunger one thing appetizers do they make you hungrier? For the whole for the whole thing and Moses is hunger for the for the whole thing
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The whole promised land is even stronger. So starting in verse 23, he tells about a prayer he prayed begins
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Oh Sovereign Lord Calls God his sovereign he calls himself his servant
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Oh Sovereign Lord my master Yahweh you have only begun to show your servant
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Your greatness and your mighty hand Think of that that coming from from Moses This is
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Moses Imagine Moses was the one who saw the burning bush Who asked the
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Lord's name there and it was told I am that I am It was through Moses that the
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Lord performed the ten plagues the ten blows on Egypt Moses went up to Mount Sinai and Got the
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Ten Commandments and he prayed that the Lord would show him his glory in Exodus chapter 33 and the Lord places him at a cleft in the rock and covers him while the
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Lord passed by and declared the Lord the Lord a God merciful and gracious as Moses bowed his head toward the earth and worshipped
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It was Moses who when he came down from Mount Sinai his face shown it glowed because he had been talking to God So he had to put a veil over his face the
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Lord. The people were frightened to talk to him. Otherwise He had experienced all of that and yet this
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Moses says here to the Lord Sovereign Lord, I'm your servant. You have only begun
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All of that is only the beginning to show your servant your greatness and your mighty hand
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You've only begun What I've seen now he said yeah, there's only a preview that burning bush the the glowing the
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Giving your name all that's just a preview of what I'll see fully later For what
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God is there? He's he prays. This is a Similar very similar words in and Psalm 103 we heard today for what
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God is there in heaven or on earth? Who can do such works and mighty acts as yours no one first the praise
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That's how he approaches God and then the petition This is what he asked please
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Let me go over. Let me cross over and see the good land beyond the
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Jordan He wants to see it all now He's tired of waiting
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But sometimes you have to wait Moses says but the Lord was angry with me because of you
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Their stubbornness their unbelief in the face of what they had seen Provoked him and he struck the rock instead of speaking to it
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As though water would come out by by his Moses his power and not by God's Word And there's a little pun in Hebrew here where Moses prays let me cross over But the
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Lord he says was cross with me He knows
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Moses blames them in verse 26 because they should not have been so unbelieving Having seen so much
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He was the most meek man on the face of the earth. It calls Moses But he still lost his temper at them because they were so unreasonably obstinate in their sins and their unbelief
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Now some people think that they should be able to treat spiritual leaders any way they want and the leaders are supposed to take it
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But Moses here says no It was because of you and he reminds them of that Because they need to grow
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This new generation So they're not like the generation before that they need to grow to not be people who any longer provoke their leaders with their obstinate unbelief
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The Lord says That was his Moses his petition Let me pass cross over but the
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Lord was crossed with me and the Lord says no enough of even asking about it Don't bring it up again
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Moses asked to see the land and to cross over and God gives him half of that. I'll give you a preview
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I'll let you see it. You can go up to the top of Mount Pisgah and you can see it look across the Jordan But you can't cross over that's
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Crossing is not yet Instead he tells him charge commission
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Joshua encourage him strengthen him If Joshua, it's
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Joshua Yeshua Jesus who takes God's people to the promised land
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He will go over at the head of the people Moses says God tells
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Moses Jesus is the head of the church. He went over through death for us
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He will give us the possession of all of God's exceedingly great and precious promises.
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Some are now Righteousness a right relationship with God now peace a whole harmonious relationship with the
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Lord now Joy because you are now a Reconciled child of the king that you used to hate and who was hostile to you a former rebel
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That's a lot of joy should come from that. Jesus has already led us Into that promised land.
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It's not Sugar candy mountain and it's not pie in the sky when you die.
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It's now it's already Yours no more waiting but for other things
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You'll still have to wait He can lead you and triumph over sins now
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But to be finally rid of sin You'll have to wait Until he has put all his enemies under his feet
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He can heal you now But one day he'll say enough healing for now
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You'll get the rest later The last enemy to be defeated Will be death
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We don't like to hear it But some Christians are some Christians are tired of waiting and they think they can taunt death now that they think it will have no sting on them, but One day there will be stung by it
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We can't taunt it yet. Not quite yet but look at what the
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We still have now we still have funerals and visits to cemeteries and we still have to wonder
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Why we're waiting But look at what the Lord has already done the righteousness and peace and joy the kingdom of God in your life the
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Resurrection of Jesus that he has triumphed over the grave. Look at that Now look at that and know lift up your heads and Know that he who has already begun a good work in you
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He who has already triumphed now over the enemies over his enemies over the grave
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He will surely completely Bring you into that promised land follow